PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Well wishes and prayers continue to pour in from across the nation for Damar Hamlin.
The 24-year-old Buffalo Bills safety suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field during Monday night's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. It was a moment too hard too watch for former Bills tight end Butch Rolle.
"I just kinda walked away and started to say a prayer," Rolle said. "I said, 'I pray to God this kid is OK.'"
The Miami native played six seasons with the Bills before heading off to the Arizona Cardinals in 1992. He said the medical emergency left him overwhelmed with emotion and took him back to his days on the gridiron.
"I know me as a player, I wouldn't have gone back out there," Rolle added. "There's no way I would've had the mindset."
Support is also being felt in Palm Beach County at Crazy Horse Saloon in Palm Beach Gardens, a hot spot for Bills fans, especially on game day.
"Everyone just kinda looking at each other, wondering what is happening," bartender Kelsey McNaughton said of fans who were watching the game.
The sudden collapse left an unforgettable, eerie silence among a sea of die-hard fans.
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"We were packed," McNaughton said. "It was absolutely insane in here and for a bar to go pretty much silent. That's a weird feeling."
The only concern now across the board is for Hamlin's healing and a full recovery.
"There's a lot of people probably all over the world just hoping for the best and, even if the days are long, you got people praying for you," McNaughton said.
Rolle agreed.
"I feel confident that he will pull through this and I just pray to God, like I said a little while ago, that he will have a great story to tell," Rolle said.
